A Book For Every Twenty-Something: 101 Secrets for Your Twenties

Paul Angone, creator of All Groan Up, just released his first book… 101 Secrets for Your Twenties.

I’ve been following Paul’s blog for a while now, so when I heard about his book, I knew I had to read it ASAP.

Because he’s awesome.

So I DID read it and I’m really glad that I did. I only wish that I had read this 3 years ago…that would have been great.

Below are a few of my favorite “secrets” from the book, and how I feel about them.

#2: The possibility for greatness and embarrassment both exist in the same space. If you’re not willing to be embarrassed, you’re probably not willing to be great.

In order to be great, you’re going to have to take risks. And when you take risks, it’s likely that you’ll fail. And when you fail, it can be really embarrassing. It sucks, I know. But on the flip side, the complete opposite can happen. You can NOT fail and achieve awesome things. So understand this going into any situation and embrace it. Understand that the possibility for embarrassment and greatness go hand-in-hand. And usually, that potential for embarrassment is totally worth it.

#4: Your 20s are about having the courage to write a frightful first draft.

Did you understand what you just read? FIRST draft. Not FINAL PUBLISHED draft. When we’re in our twenties, we tend to think that everything will be perfect. Especially those of us OCD over-achievers.We’re going to graduate college and land our dream jobs and have everything figured out. But that’s not how it happens. In our twenties we just start working on these things. It’s a first draft. Our lives will be tweaked and reviewed and edited to perfection. But that takes time…and it’s okay.

#6: Life will never feel like it’s supposed to.

If there’s one thing that I struggle with, it’s this. I really shouldn’t have watched so many Disney movies growing up. I really shouldn’t have watched ANY movies growing up. Growing up, we’re exposed to movies and books and songs that fool us into believing that life is supposed to feel a certain way. And then, when life doesn’t turn out to be as awesome as we thought it’d be, we’ve severely disappointed. When we find ourselves not working at Facebook or Google, we feel like we’ve somehow failed. But life will never feel like it’s “supposed to”, because there IS NO “supposed to”, because there’s no ONE way to live life. So give up that fantasy and you’ll be a whole lot happier.

You need some time to be alone with your thoughts. You need some time to think. Or not think. Whatever you want to do. Sometimes you just need to unwind so that you can rest and catch up. And when you do this, you’ll find yourself with a lot more energy.

#36: Your 20s might be less about finding out what you want to do, and more about finding what you DO NOT want to do.

You don’t know exactly what you want to do. Congratulations! Welcome to the club. I am the president. I may not have an exact idea of what I want to do, but I definitely have an idea of the kinds of things I DO NOT want to do. And I’ve learned that over the course of the past four years. With every job that I’ve taken, I’ve come closer to understanding what I want to do with my life. But I’ve only understood that by trying different things. By experimenting with different opportunities, I’ve discovered that there are a certain things that I DO NOT LIKE and DO NOT WANT TO DO. And for that, I am thankful.

So try things. Try lots of things. And figure out if you like them. Every time you discover something that you DON’T like, you’re that much closer to narrowing down your interests and figuring out what you DO want to do.

I’m not even kidding. Every 20-something needs this book! So if you know anyone in their twenties, buy it for them. If you have no money or just don’t like them enough to spend money on them, tell them about it. Because it’ll make a difference in their life!

When we’re in our twenties, we kind of have no clue what we’re doing.

That’s obvious.

BUT THIS WILL HELP!

Paul is a great writer who offers down-to-earth, no-BS advice for anyone who’s feeling a little lost and confused.

So do yourself a favor and take the time to read it.

It’s a quick read, and could very likely save you years of therapy.

And in case you’re not aware, therapy is VERY expensive.

***Paul and his publisher have been nice enough to host a give-away of the book on this site. Leave a comment below for a chance to win a free copy of 101 Secrets for Your Twenties.

This year I turn 21 so this book would be perfect for me. And I completely understand your feelings #6. I’m an over-achiever myself but chuckled at #2 since I’ve found that to be completely true. Over the years I’ve developed the confidence to take some risks and it has led to some great results. I’m working in the internship of a lifetime in Hong Kong (read about it at http://www.helloiminhongkong.wordpress.com) and although I really enjoy it for the time being, I’ve been learning that the pressure of that work environment is not really for me. So, #36. I believe I’ve found what I really want to do but I have yet to test that passion in a real job so here’s to the future!

I love books like this. I think it’s great that people want to share their tips with others so they can learn from them. I love tip #34, because it’s so true. It’s a scary thing to de-plug, but it’s also very rewarding.

I can’t wait to download this for vacation next week! Number 6 really resonates for me and it’s something I’m trying to work on and be aware of. But it’s tough! Can’t wait to read what else Paul has to share 🙂

Hi Kayla this is so awesome of you. I’m 22 and graduated college on top of a health problem! I could use this book in my downtime before I start out in the “real world.” Keep on writing these refreshing posts :).

You always have great posts, I love reading them! They are very insightful but very unique. These lessons are great though. I especially enjoy #36. I use to think that I had things figured out but now I know I was just fooling myself. I can’t wait to read this book.